


Coming Out

by earlgreyteawrites



Category: Voltron - Fandom, klance - Fandom
Genre: Angst, Coming Out, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, KEITH FIC, M/M, Vld keith - Freeform, keith kogane - Freeform, klance, klance fic, klance fluff, klangst, lance fic, lance mcclain - Freeform, lance serrano - Freeform, vld keith fic, vld klance - Freeform, vld klance fic, vld lance - Freeform, vld lance fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-05
Updated: 2018-12-05
Packaged: 2019-09-12 11:27:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 9,578
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16872100
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/earlgreyteawrites/pseuds/earlgreyteawrites
Summary: Axca confesses, as if Keith's life wasn't difficult enough already. He doesn't know what to say, much less what to do. After all...Keith is sorta...gay.





	1. Chapter 1

    Lance paced the floor quietly. His arms were crossed tightly across his chest, a pout on his lips. The funny thing was, he didn’t even understand why he was so upset. He’d been anxious for the past, what? Two hours. Pacing, fingernail biting, foot taping. He didn’t even realize that he was doing all of his nervous ticks until Hunk asked him if he was okay. And when he moved to say ‘Yes of course I am’, he realized he wasn’t. But of course, he didn’t say that and stuck to the original plan, putting it off as restlessness after being cramped up in the hospital for those few weeks. Hunk bought it, seeing as Lance seemed to always be bouncing with energy and eventually left him to be alone in the empty Garrison meeting room.

    In the past month Lance had made the decision to stay at the Garrison with the others until Earth was a little bit better reconstructed. During that time the lions came back, Allura had fought Haggar and defeated her in a seriously epic battle and peace was restored to the universe. At least, for the most part. Sadly, that didn’t mean they had got all of the bad guys, so now they were like the original Voltron. They weren’t fighting wars anymore, now they were simply back to a ragtag group of adventurers, stopping evil and saving planets. It was such much more relaxing not to have the idea of war hanging over their heads and it made Allura and Coran exceptionally nostalgic. And the only benefits weren’t just the ending of war, but there was all lot of other things too.

    All of the paladins, Coran, Romelle and Krolia included had fully funded benefits on earth. Of course, it was sort of that way for everyone at the moment considering earth was being rebuilt, but afterwards, Lance would never have to worry about college loans again or even so much as money for groceries. The thought of not having to work and going on adventures with the rest of the team was wonderful. Beyond that even. But there were moments when that wasn’t so wonderful.

    It took Lance those entire two hours to realize the whole reason he was anxious was because Keith was gone. Earlier, Keith had decided to go on a small one day mission along with Axca. When Lance realized this was the reason he was going so crazy, it came into his mind that not only was he anxious, but he was severely depressed (which would explain the fatigue). Maybe that had been why he’d paced in the conference room for two straight hours without even realizing it, head off in la la land.

    It wasn’t much of a surprise to him anymore that Lance had a crush on Keith. Lance had finally accepted it. At the night of the game show, that was his chance that he sort of got to prove it. He’d been honest with himself about it. He’d let him stare at the boy a little longer than he should’ve and he let himself relax about it. At first it had been a shocker. He’d had several breakdowns over it, sobbing in his room when they still had the castle. He didn’t know what to do so far away from earth. He had no family to guide him through liking a boy, he had no books or records that he could read through or watch. There was nothing to explain his feelings to him, nothing to help him through the process. Eventually, all he had to rely on was his memory.

    Using what Lance eloquently referred to as the ‘memory picture things’ for team bonding, Lance went through his mind, eventually locating health class. He watched as his teacher briefly explained LGBTQ+ history and the fight for their rights during the human sexuality portion. Lance remembered thinking it was stupid, that it was once illegal to love someone.

    And as the class memories went on, a word had stuck out. Bisexual. The teacher gave a brief summary or how it had meant liking more than one gender, commonly cis boys and cis girls, but not all genders (like pansexual). At that point Lance had always thought he was straight. But he hadn’t been so sure after Keith. Day after day he would watch that memory, ingraining it into his head. Day after day he got angry at his old health teacher for not explaining how confusing and heart wrenching discovering your sexuality could be. He watched it until his eyes would hurt from both staring and crying. And finally, finally he understood that he was bi…and that he had a big fat crush on Keith.

    It had been awful. He pretended to be in love with Allura for the sake of getting it out of his mind. His friends would laugh and roll their eyes as he drawled on about his ‘crush’, suspecting nothing when he would shoot a glance at Keith to take in the cuteness of his face.

    Needless to say when Keith left for the blade, Lance was absolutely devastated. He never shook that void, not even for a second. And when Keith actually came back, different and totally not interested in anything Lance had to say…the void just got bigger and bigger.

    They’d made up of course, the void went away slowly and painfully, but he finally felt fulfilled again. He realized how much happier Keith was with his mom, how complete he looked with her. He got used to his cooler (and cuter) look, both intrigued and amazed as to how much Keith changed in only the span of five months, though it had technically been years for Keith. The old tension fell and the friendship stayed. They teased each other and felt comfort around one another. Lance had relished it.

    And then Axca came along.

    Lance knew she liked Keith. Lance hated himself for being jealous of that, especially since Keith wasn’t showing any signs of liking her back in any way. He commonly brushed off her advances and didn’t pay much attention to her compared to everyone else, but Lance couldn’t help but be afraid. And the fact that Keith had chosen her instead of Lance to go on the day mission with him, well…that freaked Lance out. He cursed himself for being so oblivious to that fact, wanting to cry every second he thought about it inside of the meeting room.

    Lance felt stupid as he sat down in one of the chairs. He could feel himself shaking, on the very edge of a small panic attack. He felt not only pathetic, but also incredibly stupid. What was he even doing here?! These stupid thoughts, not even logical ones, kept swarming his mind telling him that Keith was going to die or that Axca was going to betray him out of nowhere and hurt him. Or that maybe Keith and Axca would get together. O-or, or…or….

    “Lance?” Shiro suddenly said from the doorway, his voice calm and serene. Oddly enough, Adam wasn’t besides him (it had been impossible to separate the two since they had finally reunited).

    “O-oh, hey Shiro.” Lance stuttered awkwardly, scrambling out of the chair. He felt a little bit stupid for being caught in the midst of his ticks. His droopy face gave away the fact that he was depressed and the foot tapping spoke for itself. Shiro seemed to immediately understand that something was off, his expression becoming more worrisome. Lance hated worrying people, especially people like Shiro. He couldn’t believe he was acting so stupid over jealousy and a crush. It wasn’t like Keith was going to die, it was a really simple easy mission that didn’t even involve fighting. And it wasn’t like he was going to walk in on Keith and Axca making out or something. He shouldn’t be worried. He shouldn’t be freaking out other people over it either.

    “Hey, are you alright?” Shiro asked.

    “Uh, yeah?” Lance lied, trying to smile. It made his forehead and mouth ache uncomfortably. Shiro frowned, unconvinced.

    “…Are you sure?” he mumbled. Lance paused for a moment. It was clear Shiro wasn’t going to give up. He let his little charade fall, lips and forehead no longer aching as he allowed his face to droop. He hesitated for a moment, looking up at Shiro. He felt guilty for putting this on Shiro after all he’d already been through both physically and emotionally, but…Shiro was the most likely one to understand.

    “I’m worried about Keith.” he admitted, hugging himself and looking at the floor. He didn’t want to even so much as try to look Shiro in the eyes. He felt pathetic and stupid. Why was he even fooling himself?

    Shiro paused for a moment, obviously a little surprised to hear that be confessed, but his surprise fell, a knowing smile on his lips.

    “Don’t worry, Keith will be okay-”

    “But…but that’s not what I mean. I just…I’ve been worried about… _everything_ with Keith.” Shiro waited patiently for Lance to find the words. “I just…I…” Lance struggled to force himself to, but he managed to look Shiro in the eyes. Saying this was one of the hardest things Lance would ever have to do. Because yeah, he could easily imagine confessing this fact to his family, but…Shiro was a whole different story. He was kind of like Keith’s brother, but also his dad. Not only that but he was intimidating at times when he wanted to be, especially after the whole thing with the clone. Lance was worried Shiro would be weirded out or laugh at him, maybe even call him stupid. He knew those thoughts were illogical, but regardless he just couldn’t stop worrying.

    Lance took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down. Shiro continued to regard him quietly, waiting patiently as he always did. Lance barely managed to grasp the courage.

    “…I have a crush. I have a crush on Keith.” he mumbled out shakily, “A-and with him and Axca going on this mission…I know it’s stupid but I’m scared they’ll end up together and he’ll forget about me and then he’ll never visit because he’s always with her and then they’ll move to space and then she’ll let him do something reckless and he’ll _die_ -”

    “Woah, woah…settle down.” Shiro said calmly, chuckling a little bit. He fit his real hand onto Lance’s shoulder, pulling him lightly to his chest for a hug. Lance struggled to keep tears in his eyes as Shiro sighed softly. “It’s alright Lance. I don’t think that’s going to happen. I don’t think _any_ of that is going to happen.” he smiled softly against Lance’s hair, his fake arm coming around for a comforting squeeze. “…I’m glad you told me though, don’t get me wrong. Just relax for a second, you’re really working yourself up over this.” Lance shakily breathed in and out, doing his very best to relax. He knew his worries and fears were stupid and fueled by nothing but his emotions, but at least Shiro was taking him seriously, trying to calm him down.

    Shiro hugged Lance for a long time, long enough that Lance managed to calm himself down. He was exceptionally gentle and loving, running his fingers up and down Lance’s back in a small repetitive trail. It felt oddly comforting, allowing Lance to relax further.

    “So, how long has this been going on?” Shiro asked gently, not daring to let go of Lance. Lance had to admit, he really loved Shiro. He was not only like his dad throughout the whole war, but he was just a genuinely good person. He cared so much about others, including Lance. And even in tense and emotionally difficult situations like this, he made Lance feel more comfortable than Lance would feel with anyone else.

    “…A couple years.” Lance sighed deeply. It felt good to get that out.

    “Years?” Shiro asked, tone a little bit surprised. Lance felt himself blush, “As in, years in the quintessence field years or actual years.”

    “Actual years.” Lance confessed. Shiro was quiet for a moment. His eyes brows crinkled, a small tinge of sadness crossed his features.

    “And you told us a while ago you were straight…” Shiro thought out loud, “…Have you been going through this all by yourself?” Lance unconsciously tensed. Shiro’s features crinkled further, sadness in his eyes. “Oh Lance.” he mumbled. Shiro pulled Lance closer. Lance had to force himself not to cry as Shiro hugged him tight a second time, his arms warm against Lance’s shivering back. Lance couldn’t deny it, he’d been to hell and back with all of this.

    Lance thought back to a memory, a very old one. It was right when the crush first started and he had been so incredibly confused. He and Keith had been sitting in the hangar trying desperately to strengthen the bonds with their lions. Keith had done it easily, but Lance…Lance struggled. Lance had gotten to the point of frustration where he was crying, curled up at the foot of Blue and mumbling curses in Spanish. Keith had come down and helped him to his feet, running his hand up and down his back to calm him down. They had spoken, though it wasn’t really a conversation considering Lance was so upset he forgot how to speak English for a little bit, his native tongue rolling along, making it impossible for Keith to understand. Despite that, Keith had calmly listened, nodding and rubbing Lance’s back, telling him it would be okay.  It had meant the world to Lance, especially then.

    Lance wasn’t sure why that memory came into his mind, but he kept it close as Shiro gently let go of Lance, patting his shoulder.

    “Do you need to talk about it, any of it?” Shiro asked. Lance smiled, it was a sad smile but a smile nonetheless.

    “Well, I kinda had time to learn how to deal with it.” he croaked. Shiro mimicked Lance’s sad smile,

    “I suppose you did.” he sighed, his eyes sullen. “…You know that everything will be okay, right?” Shiro said softly. “This is Keith after all, he’s smart, he knows what he’s doing.” Lance managed a nod, feeling just a little bit better than before. Shiro gave him one last pat on the shoulder.

    “Okay.” Lance sighed softly, looking up at Shiro for just a moment longer. Shiro bent over the table, grabbing some papers he’d probably come in here for in the first place. Then he turned back and leaned over Lance, kissing the top of his head. It was a sweet, totally fatherly kiss, meant for comfort. Lance appreciated the gesture, leaning into it for the second it lasted.

    “C’mon, let’s get out of here.” Shiro smiled, patting Lance’s shoulder as they walked out of the dark room.

    Lance had to admit, confessing that made him feel a whole lot better. Shiro was right, he had nothing to be afraid of.

    But as they walked, a weird feeling overtook Lance. A dread filled him, worry seeping over him. It shouldn’t have considering he was significantly calmer now, but…nonetheless he felt it.

    As though to confirm his worries, Lance’s communicator buzzed frantically in his pocket.


	2. Chapter 2

**Keith**

 

    Keith felt horrible. He was already terrible enough at communicating, but turning someone down, that was worse. Axca sat awkwardly in the back seat of the cruiser, obviously uncomfortable. If it hadn’t been like this, Keith would’ve picked Lance in a heartbeat; but after his mom had mentioned a little something about Axca having a crush, well…he wanted to nip it in the bud.

    Keith cringed remembering the conversation they had just two minutes ago.

 

_“So…I, uhm…I understand you like me?” Keith mumbled, awkwardly trying not to make it awkward (which was obviously failing miserably). Axca tensed, her cheeks going deep blue. She seemed incredibly uncomfortable already shifting in her seat. Only then did Keith really noticed how closely she’d positioned herself towards him._

_“H-how did you know?” she said quickly, not daring to look in his direction. She was clearly flustered, maybe even a little bit guilty. Keith hadn’t wanted that. He had wanted her to be comfortable, but…_

_“E-erm, I-I dunno, I just…it’s fine. I just…I’m kind of…gay, so…” Keith trailed off, feeling himself blush. This was going even worse than he imagined. He wanted to slap himself for his own stupidity._

_“…Oh.” Axca mumbled. Keith couldn’t decide whether her voice was disgusted or disappointed. But he had a dreading feeling that is was leaning towards disgust. Homophobia wasn’t really a thing on earth anymore, but on other planets it was. Keith couldn’t help but be anxious. Regardless, Keith found himself blurting out things._

_“I-I’m not saying that you’re not worthy of me or anything, I-I just…I don’t like girls like that, I…” Keith wanted to self destruct the ship at this point. Axca just looked even more awkward. An incredibly tense, awful silence wafted between the two of them. Keith was just about ready to open the airlock and throw himself into space when Axca finally spoke again,_

_“No, I understand.” she muttered, but her voice was oddly cold and distant. Keith tried not to let himself do anything dumber, keeping quiet. Suddenly she had glared at him, moving to sit down in the backseat. She remained there as Keith continued to quietly fly the ship back to earth_.

 

    Keith inwardly groaned, genuinely wanting to punch himself. He’d been so insensitive to her. He wished he could fix what he’d done, but at this point he couldn’t. Keith tried to take his mind off of it by focusing on the mission’s success. The small crystal he had taken was still comfortably inside of his pocket. It glowed a soft purple color. If you touched it, it would speed up the healing process of any body. He had been assigned to collect it in order for it to be replicated and distributed through the hospital considering there were already so any people in there. Keith definitely considered that a good thing.

    Earth slowly came into view. It was far away, but it was there nonetheless. It filled Keith with a warm, happy feeling. It had only been a day since he’d left but he missed it. Keith never once thought he could miss earth, but Lance and mom and Shiro and all of the other paladins were there waiting for him. That was something Keith had never really had before. It was a surprisingly nice feeling, similar to the one he used to have when coming home from school to see his dad. But as Keith got nostalgic about his memories with dad, Axca took advantage of the moment.

    Before Keith could even react, she knocked him in the jaw,

“You’re a dishonor to the galran race!” she suddenly yelled. An anger suddenly washed over Keith, one that was impossible to control. He knew this wasn’t about her being rejected. This was about something much worse and much more hurtful.

    Back in school, before the Garrison, Keith distinctly remembered health class. They had made a big deal about how human sexuality is no longer an issue and that people had evolved above that. But Keith knew that not everyone had. As a child, he’d once got beaten up for saying he liked one of the more recent male singers in his era…Keith had known that it wasn’t because of the singer himself, but his gender. And in space, he more recently found out that being gay was unacceptable in the galra race that followed Zarkon’s empire, as well as a lot of other alien races. Thankfully the Blade and other small rebel groups were far past that, including his mother; but that didn’t mean situations like this still couldn’t happen.

    Rage filled Keith as he stared back at the person beside him, but also disappointment. Keith looked up to Axca. She had been through a lot and had overcome some major difficulties in her life, leaving an abusive relationship, turning against her friends and now she was trying to make the universe right again. He had respected her. Now she was calling him disgusting for his love of the same gender; a choice that she had no right to criticize.

    “ _You_ and the galra race aren’t entitled to my feelings!” Keith yelled back. Axca’s glare didn’t even fall. It stayed as she wound up for another punch. Keith lurched forwards and grabbed her arm, stopping her before disaster. Thank god the ship was on autopilot.

    “Your _feelings_ are affecting _my_ situation!” she screamed, using force Keith hadn’t expected her to. She shoved him off of the pilot’s chair. He went tumbling down into the back. A sickening crack! echoed through the ship. Keith yelped at the sudden pain that erupted up his arm. Disorientation wafted through him, making him useless for a couple seconds. Pain took over everything he was doing, pulling his thoughts only to his throbbing limb. Tears slipped madly out of his eyes, Keith felt like throwing up.

    As Keith writhed on the floor, Axca was given the perfect opportunity. She suddenly opened the airlock, horrifyingly close to Keith. He could feel himself starting to be sucked out.

    “I _refuse_ to ride with filth!” she declared, raising her foot above him to kick him out. But Keith acted quickly. Through his blinding pain, he managed to block her blow with his own foot, but it didn’t stop him from getting closer to the edge of the airlock. It was almost as though space’s tiny fingers were dragging him further and further out into the cosmos.

    “I’m _not_ filth!” Keith yelled back, desperately trying to fender off her feet. If she had actually been trying, Keith knew Axca would’ve kicked him into space by now. Keith couldn’t let that happen.

    Axca took a two second break, just long enough that Keith could struggle to his feet in a clumsy but effective moment. His arm burned, making his entire body feel incredibly sluggish. But nonetheless he tried. He swung his good arm at her, narrowly missing. If he could just knock her out or at least something, he’d be able to get her back to earth as well as himself without any more trouble. But clearly Axca wasn’t having it. She moved like a ninja, faster and more effective than Keith could, and that was without the broken arm. He did his best to block it, in the process getting his arms and legs bruised. But to Keith’s horror, she managed to kick him straight in the face. His helmet loosened, nearly falling off. Keith barely had time to shove it back on his head before he was kicked out of the airlock.

    Keith spun rapidly in a motion that reminded him _far_ to much of being stuck in space without the lions that one time. Keith couldn’t help but be terrified as he continued to roll, unable to properly stop himself. As he went around and around, he saw the ship getting farther. He was going relatively slow, so he wasn’t extremely far away. But he was just far enough that there was no way he could make it back before she took the controls and headed back to earth, not even with his jet pack.

    Wait, his jet pack! Keith rushed to activate his thrusters. They followed his command, steadying out his body until he was safe and ‘standing’. Keith breathed out shakily, holding his injured arm. Thankfully it only hurt when he moved it, but it was without a doubt broken. He would’ve used the crystal he was holding had it not been able to wear out. A broken arm might be just enough to sap its power. Plus, they really needed the crystal in good condition to replicate it.

    Keith sighed. The worst thing right now would be to freak out. Remember your training Keith. What is the first thing you do when you get stuck in space? Okay, analyze surroundings, scope out dangers. Keith looked around. All he could see was earth and the Balmera. The other planets were still too far to see as anything more than a really bright light. Stars surrounded him. He would’ve loved the feeling had he not been abandoned here. His chest still felt tight. Not to the point that he was going to cry, but there was a lot of frustration building inside of him by this point. He wasn’t sure what to do about it either. Axca was gone so he couldn’t yell at her now and it wasn’t like she could take back what she’d said and did. She’d punched him, literally punched him, all because he liked boys.

    Keith had to admit, he felt awful. Axca had grown so much, she was such a cool person too. Keith thought he could trust her, even when he had to reject her feelings. Now he was thrown out in space, experiencing his worst fear once again. Being rejected himself.

    At this point, Keith had to force himself to focus. What was next on the list…attempt communication? Yeah, yeah, that was it. Keith shakily reached into his other pocket, finding his communicator. He could’ve used his helmet, but he didn’t want someone to pull up video chat and see that he had cried (even if it was out of pain, not out of emotion). He quickly looked through, trying to find someone available. But as he scrolled through, his stomach dropped. Why was everyone’s communicator off? He continued to scroll a little more frantically, an urgency growing inside of him. Keith hated being scared, especially in moments like this. He had no reason to be afraid, the team would see that Axca came back alone, track his suit and find him. Nonetheless he was terrified, frantically tapping each contact to see if the communicator was on.

    Relief flooded over Keith. Thank god for Lance. It seemed like he was always there when Keith needed him the most. He tapped the contact, beginning to call him. Lance picked up immediately.

    “Hey! Keith, are you doing okay? What’s going on?” he asked, voice tender and happy as always. It made Keith melt a little bit. Keith gulped, clearly his throat a little bit.

    “I uh, I need your help.” Keith sighed, “…And, are you alone right now?” he mumbled.

    “Shiro’s with me.” Lance replied. “Is something wrong? You don’t sound so good.” Lance muttered.

    “I’ll…I’ll tell you about it all later, but, can you grab Blue and come get me? Axca sort of threw me into space.” there was a pause on the other line. It lasted so long that Keith actually feared something might’ve happened on the other end. But to confirm that Lance was still there, a very violent, extremely loud,

    “WHAT?!” burst through the communicator, nearly making Keith deaf. “Shiro, I’ve gotta go and get Keith, I’ll be right back!” Keith heard Lance say, voice a little bit muffled. The sound of rapid footsteps echoed through the little orange device in Keith’s hands. “Hey, I’ll be there in just a minute, I have your location and everything. Just hold tight for me, okay?” Lance asked, his voice still soft and tender despite the obvious fact that he was probably sprinting to his lion.

    “Okay.” Keith replied, feeling a lot better than before at this point. Keith could practically feel Lance smiling through the communicator.

    “Oh, and Keith…” Lance mumbled,

    “What?” Keith asked,

    “You’re the best, samurai. Don’t be scared, I’ll be there soon.”

 

    Keith felt a little bit dumb for it, but he couldn’t help the fact that his heart fluttered the entire time he waited. He was thankful for Lance drowning out the awful things he’d been feeling after the whole Axca thing. For some reason, he really felt like he could confide in Lance about this. He wasn’t exactly sure if Lance was gay or anything, but, he felt like no matter what, he would understand. Lance had that vibe that he could understand, even when he’d never experienced what another person had. That’s what was so great about him, it was his thing. He wasn’t just a people person but also emotionally intelligent. Keith really appreciated that, especially since he was rather lacking in that area.

    And finally, through the dark gloom of space, low and behold the blue lion appeared. She was magnificent as Keith remembered, though a little rough around the edges from all of her battles. It was amazing and also kind of a miracle when Lance realized he could fly both Blue and Red just as how Keith found out he could pilot Black and Red.

    Keith couldn’t help but be both excited and relieved as Blue opened her mouth, revealing his favorite (don’t tell anyone) paladin. He activated his jet pack, heading over to Keith, smiling. It was clear he was a little worried, it showed a little more as he got closer. Being in a suit made it a little bit hard to wipe your tears, so Keith had never gotten the chance to try and fix himself up.

    “….You okay?” Lance asked, voice just as sweet and soft as before. He held out a hand, carefully cupping Keith’s shoulder in his palm.

    “Yeah, broken arm.” Keith sighed, but smiled a little bit. “I still have the crystal though. As soon as they can replicate it, I’ll be fixed in no time.” he ensured Lance softly.

    “What happened out there anyways?” Lance asked. Keith sighed deeply. He kind of wanted to talk about it all inside of Blue without this dumb suit on. Lance thankfully seemed to understand that, taking Keith’s good hand inside of his own and carefully pulling him into Blue’s jaw.

    As they walked inside, Keith’s arm ached a little bit. He tried to plan out what to say, but with a slightly horrifying thought, he realized he’d never told Lance he was gay before. Keith almost had to stop walking, a little bit of anxiousness churning in his gut.

 

    How was Keith going to explain this?


	3. Chapter 3

    Lance watched as Keith quietly stripped his suit off in the corner of the cockpit, revealing a slightly sweaty t-shirt and some black skinny jeans he’d been wearing underneath. He cradled his injured arm in his hands, wincing every time he had to move out of the suit, but he’d managed to get out.

    “I put Blue on autopilot.” Lance announced, climbing out of his seat and moving towards Keith. Keith sighed deeply, moving to sit criss-cross-applesauce on the floor. Lance mimicked him, quietly staring at Keith’s arm. He really wanted to know what had happened, especially since Keith looked so depressed. His features drooped and he seemed a little moodier than usual.

    “…It’s okay if you don’t wanna talk about it, but I’d like to know if you’re okay.” Lance said softly. Keith’s gaze rose to meet his. He seemed to appreciate what Lance had said.

    “…I’ll tell you. I just need a second.” Keith mumbled.

    “Alright. How about I grab some bandages and patch you up while we wait then.” that managed to get Keith to smile. Lance patted Keith gently on the shoulder before standing up, ruffling through his medical supplies. Lance had become a professional with broken bones after helping alien refugees. He knew exactly what to do, so he grabbed the nearest set of bandages and carefully sat besides Keith. Keith held out his arm, knowing what was coming. But to Lance’s surprise, as he began to wrap up Keith’s arm, Keith began to explain what had happened.

    Keith’s expressions changed in various ways as he talked, as though he couldn’t decide what to feel. But most of all he just looked a little bit embarrassed as he stared up at Lance as Lance carefully created a sling for Keith’s arm, taking in the story. When Lance finished, he stared back at Keith, making sure he was being as gentle as possible.

    “It might take some time, but I’m sure she’ll come around. That really sucks.” Lance sighed. He wanted to lighten the mood for Keith, it was obvious he felt awful. And anyways, he kind of wanted to address the one thing that had really stuck in his mind. Keith didn’t like Axca back. Keith was _gay_. Sure, Lance had suspected that, but having it confirmed was a whole different thing.

    “When were you going to tell us that you’re gay anyways?” Lance asked softly. Keith blushed a little bit, looking at the ground. He was clearly a little bit embarrassed, but he seemed more comfortable than uncomfortable, so Lance waited for a reply.

    “…Well, Shiro already knows. It’s just…well, I’ve always just kind of been afraid of being rejected and…”

    “You were afraid we’d reject you if we found out?” Lance finished. Keith nodded, gulping thickly enough that Lance could see his adam’s apple bob. Lance almost laughed, but he forced himself not to. He knew how hard it was to block out thoughts like that no matter how illogical they were. “I don’t think you’ll ever have to worry about that with us.” Lance mumbled softly, “…and I know this whole thing with Axca sucks, but, she’s going to have time to adjust. After all, she grew up in a brainwashed empire. That’s going to take time for them to heal and grow from. Even if it seems like she’d already changed a lot, I’m sure once she gets more exposure and understanding that she’ll change how she thinks.”  Lance reached out, grabbing Keith’s good hand and holding it inside of both of his.

    “And even if she doesn’t come around, it doesn’t matter. You have Shiro who’s pan and you have me and Pidge is ace, they all get it. I had to discover my sexuality in the middle of space. I understand it sucks with all of the homophobes and just generally trying to understand yourself, that’s…sorta why I pretended to like Allura for so long.” Lance laughed a little bit, hoping that Keith would too, but Keith just stared, eyes as wide as saucers, jaw hanging open just slightly.

    “What?” he asked, voice so quiet Lance could barely hear it. Lance felt himself blush a little bit. He loosely gripped Keith’s fingers, smiling shyly.

    “…Well, I uh…I sorta figured out I’m bi. It really sucked at first, I was pretty scared because I always thought I liked girls but it turns out I like guys too. So I sorta pretended to like Allura so I wouldn’t have anyone suspect that I think guys are cute. Like, really _really_ cute.” Keith cracked a smile, “I can totally see why you’re gay.” Keith snorted, reaching up and covering his mouth with his hand.

    “You’re so stupid.” he laughed, playfully hitting Lance with his shoulder. Lance burst into a grin, gently shoving Keith back.

“Hey! I’m not the gay one.”

    “Oh shut up.” Keith smiled brightly, still covering his mouth as he snorted. They gradually calmed down and Keith stopped snorting, but a calm smile stayed on his lips. A happy smile. “…I’m glad you told me.” Lance felt his cheeks flush a little.

    “No problem. You came out to me, I owed you one.” Lance smiled. A comfortable silence wafted between them, both of them simply exchanging glances at the other. But as they looked at each other a moment longer, Lance realized Keith had put his hand back inside of Lance’s, squeezing his right hand gently. Lance wanted to scream. He’d never held a boy’s hand before, much less someone he had a crush on. Not only was it the nicest thing he’d ever experienced, but it was overall incredibly comforting to have Keith in front of him. The both of them finished talking about something important and personal; it wasn’t like this hadn’t happened before, but this felt so incredibly intimate.

    “…So, who was it that made you realize you liked guys.” Keith asked softly, a totally innocent question as he played gently with Lance’s fingers. Lance felt his face erupt with a blush. It had been literal years that he liked Keith, but he still couldn’t imagine to confessing him. It was easier for him when he had a moment of attraction to people’s personalities or looks because it wasn’t going to hurt him if he got rejected. But Keith…Lance…Lance would go as far to say that he might be a little bit in love with him. The thought of having their wonderful friendship and all of these things they shared together be wiped away in an instant….it terrified him.

    “I-I…uhm…I…” Lance stuttered, his cheeks getting redder and redder with embarrassment. He flusteredly tried to correct himself, his mouth refusing to pour out the right words to say. He didn’t know what to say, because yeah it was high time he confessed to Keith, but he was still afraid of what he might lose as a result.

* * *

 

**Keith**

 

    Lance squeezed Keith’s fingers, still obviously embarrassed as he continued to trip over his words. As he did it, Keith slowly began to realize something. He felt like he was back in middle school, just having that ‘OH!’ moment when he finally figured out how to divide fractions. Only this felt ten times better, like his entire body had been cleared of stuff he didn’t even know was inside of him.

    Eventually, Lance gave up on trying to say anything, but by then Keith already knew. His jaw hung open a little bit as Lance stared at the ground. One thing Keith knew was that Lance was only ashamed to confess one thing, and that was his feelings to his crushes.

    He’d noticed once when they were little and at the Garrison. Lance had a crush on the girl in their class. Unlike usual, he had been extremely bashful. He would tell others with confidence how much he liked her, but when it came to her, he was like a little turtle, shy and blushy. Now, Keith wasn’t exactly the most observant, but he’d somehow managed to catch on and eventually used that fact purely to taunt him.

    But now that Keith sort of liked Lance…and well, that observation suddenly wasn’t for blackmail anymore.

    Keith had to force himself not to scream out of pure excitement. He’d liked Lance for so long he didn’t even remember when it had started. He just knew it had felt like forever. And now…he was almost positive that feeling was completely mutual. He supposed breaking his arm and fighting with Axca wasn’t so bad if it resulted in this.

    “Are you going to tell me or what?” Keith asked, forcing his jaw back in place. An uncontrollable smile spread across his lips. He felt his heart racing against his chest, pounding madly. Butterflies that used to dance in his stomach melted to happy goo that bubbled inside of him. He wanted so badly to cup Lance’s cheeks in his hand and give him a kiss smack dab on the lips, but he knew he had to wait. Just a little longer. Just a tiny bit.

    “I-I uhm…” Lance stuttered, barely lifting his eyes up to Keith.

    “You don’t have to, but…I’d like to know.” Keith tried to make the hint obvious. Lance didn’t seem to understand as he continued to stutter away.

    “I-I wanna tell you but I also don’t.” he mumbled. Keith could feel his hands shaking inside of Keith’s.

    “Why is that?” Keith asked softly.

    “It’s embarrassing.” Lance said quickly. This seemed to be drawing on forever, Keith didn’t want to torture Lance for longer than what was needed, but the way he was acting was so sweet and adorable.

    “Why is it embarrassing? You just had a crush, right?” Lance’s face pinked even deeper. Keith moved his hand against Lance’s right one, intertwining their fingers and giving it a little squeeze. It looked like something straight out of a shojo manga, Lance’s ears practically steamed, his whole face as red as lava. He was so flustered he looked like he might cry. Keith decided he’d gone a little bit too far. “…Can I guess?” he asked softly, trying to calm Lance down a little bit. Lance nodded, not daring to look Keith in the eyes.

    There was a short pause between them. Keith still wanted just a little bit of fun, but he didn’t want to make Lance cry, so he decided his first guess would be,

    “Hunk?” Lance shook his head.

    “Shiro?” Lance looked horrified, violently shaking his head. Keith laughed as Lance fake gagged.

    “What the _heck_ Keith?! He’s like eight years older than me! And he’s like my dad!” Lance screeched. Keith laughed a little bit longer, grinning as Lance recovered. Okay, Lance wasn’t going to cry or anything, so Keith drawed out the little game just a bit longer.

    “Matt was kinda-”

    “Why do you keep suggesting old people?!” Keith couldn’t help it when he started snorting again. He was loving this.

    “Rolo?” Lance sighed deeply and shook his head, but he was kind of laughing, so Keith thought that was good. The butterflies that had melted in Keith’s stomach re-solidified. They flapped frantically, making him feel sick with excitement. Just one more. Just one more guess before he would really ask it.

    “Erm…Bii bo bii?” Lance shook his head and laughed, grinning stupidly.

    “ _EW!_ Okay, you are seriously bad at this. One more guess, that’s it.” he instructed. Now was Keith’s chance. He felt the butterflies practically swarm in his gut. He could hardly even believe what he was about to do, but he was going to do it.

    Keith had waited years to confess. But it had never been the right time. They had been in the middle of a war for heaven’s sake. And since Keith had finally gotten home and met Lance’s family and his old friends, he wanted more than anything to say that he loved him. But, Axca had gotten in the way. He wanted to bring Lance on this mission, maybe even confess to him, but he figured it would be best to turn down Axca to avoid future hurt and or conflict (though he ended up making that rather than avoiding it).

    Now he had his chance. It was literally handed to him on a silver platter.

    Keith smiled shakily, a little bit embarrassed. He felt like this would be a cute way to confess, especially because his assumption seemed to be correct. So Keith gathered his courage, doing his best to keep his voice steady as he opened his mouth.

    “Is it-”

    But before anything else could happen, Blue landed safely on the Garrison grounds. However, she landed just unsteadily enough that the force launched the two of them into the air. Lance yelped as he fell backwards into a crab position. Keith wasn’t so lucky. As he was tossed into the air, he tried to spin, but ended up doing it  the wrong way, landing flat on his arm. The bad one.

    Keith hated looking weak, but he couldn’t help it; he screamed. Broken bones _hurt_ , okay? Lance immediately got up, rushing over to his side. Keith whimpered, panting at the same time. He sounded a little bit like a baby trying to talk for the first time, only filled with agony rather than a cute and bubbly noise.

    “ _Ah, Aah_ , it hurts!” Lance pulled Keith up so he wasn’t completely on top of his own arm, frantically trying to help in any way he could. Keith panted, a couple tears slipping out of his eyes. Lance moved him quickly so that he was resting against Lance’s shoulder.

    “It’s okay.” he said tenderly, trying to calm Keith down. Keith’s arm throbbed, feeling horribly painful compared to when he actually broke it the first time. He tried to breathe, panting like crazy and crying as he got dizzier. “It’s okay Keith, I’m here.” Lance’s voice sounded like it was submerged thousands of feet underwater. Great, Keith thought, I’m going to pass out.

    But just before his vision went hazy from pain, he saw Lance gently hold onto his hand, desperately trying to comfort him. Keith would never be able to tell Lance how much he appreciated his efforts, though they were in vain.

    And with one final attempt to keep his eyes open, Keith’s body went limp and the world around him went black.


	4. Chapter 4

**Lance**

    Keith didn’t seem like the type to faint out of pain. It seemed like something a very delicate person would do, and Keith wasn’t delicate with anything in a physical way. But nonetheless, he’d passed out. Lance didn’t blame him, he saw how Keith had landed and he could’ve sworn he heard a sickening crack. Lance just prayed he didn’t break more bone than he already had.

    Keith’s breaths were shallow from pain as unconsciously leaned into Lance’s shoulder, his cute little nose pressed into Lance’s neck. Despite being a little sweaty and teary eyed, Keith’s hair still smelled wonderful. It had that softness that it gets when you crawl out of bed in the morning. Lance forced himself not to focus on that, carefully standing with Keith in his arms and grabbed the crystal out of Keith’s armor pocket. They could get the armor later, as for now, Keith needed a cast and a good doctor.

    Lance walked to the hospital reception desk, carefully setting unconscious Keith down into a plush waiting room chair as he explained the the lady that he had landed on his broken arm and fainted. They got a doctor out in no time.

    Lance carried Keith carefully through the winding hallways of the hospital, twisting and turning through different sections. During the journey, Keith very slowly, but surely, gained consciousness again. He groaned against Lance’s neck, obviously miserable. Lance reminded himself to strangle Axca the next time he saw her. It was her fault he had been in so much pain.

    “Whas going on?” Keith mumbled, barely moving his mouth. He still looked like he was in pain, so Lance was careful not to jostle his arm as he brought him into the x-ray room. It smelled like disinfectant and plastic, but Lance simply ignored that aspect, carefully placing Keith onto the platform so they could x-ray his arms before getting it in a cast.

    “When Blue landed she tossed you on your bad arm on accident.” Lance explained, his voice gentle as he carefully unwrapped the sling while the nearest doctor fussed with the little machine in his hands. Keith winced a little bit, but Lance was sure to be as gentle as possible. “You passed out and I brought you to the hospital. I’m just going to bring the crystal to the staff while they check your bones and get you a cast, m’kay?” Keith nodded, his face twisting up a little bit.

    Lance remembered Shiro telling them something when they’d gone into an alien hospital to visit an injured diplomat. Keith had absolutely refused to go. He’d even started screaming at Allura, telling her there was no way he was setting a foot inside of that place. When everyone had asked about it, Shiro had explained that they reminded Keith too much of the night his dad had died. Unless he was with family or people really close to him, he couldn’t bring himself to go (especially not if he was stressed either, which was the main cause of the outburst).

    “…Hey uhm, doc? Do you have someone around that could bring this to Gabriel?” Lance asked. The doctor paused what he was doing for a moment, pressing an intercom before turning back and saying,

    “Gabriel will be here in a couple moments.” Keith looked extremely relieved, looking at Lance with an expression that said ‘thank you’. Lance took a seat besides Keith, placing his hand close enough to allow Keith to grab it if needed. When the doctor started walking towards them, Keith snatched Lance’s fingers right up, seeming a little bit nervous. It was a little bit sad to see Keith like this. The guy had undergone a good ten major surgeries when they’d gotten back to earth, you would’ve thought he’d gotten used to be scanned and stabbed with needles, but the experience had obviously freaked Keith out a little bit. Lance didn’t blame him. He was not one for having needles stuck in his thighs to numb pain for weeks on end. So he tried his best to comfort Keith as the doctor came close.

    It only took two seconds, the doctor peeled back the bandages on his elbow and pressed the device into the skin carefully. It churned and clicked, blinking green. Keith jumped a little bit.

    “Oh, sorry, it stings a little bit…” the doctor apologized, moving the machine over. He pulled up a hologram of Keith’s arm, raising it up. A good two breaks made it clear he bad badly broken his forearm. Even with the injection to speed up the healing process it would take at least a week or two. Lance gave Keith a sympathetic look, allowing Keith to squeeze his hand a little tighter as the doctor continued.

    The process took a little while, seeing as the task itself was generally a bit tedious. Keith was just tired enough that he didn’t fully freak out, but Lance could tell he was trying to hold himself back. But eventually, the doctor finished and the crystal was pawned of to Gabriel, head of the medical research department. And as Lance gently guided Keith out of the room, feeling a little bit better than before. Even Shiro came by just as Lance stopped outside of Keith’s room.

    “Hey, what happened?” Shiro asked softly, taking a look at Keith’s arm. Keith kind of matched Shiro in a way, only the arm wasn’t completely artificial and was actually attached to Keith’s body. Keith sighed, obviously tired and a little bit shaky from getting his cast on. But nonetheless he quickly explained the situation.

    Keith left out the part about Lance coming out, simply telling about how she landed, sounding both ticked off an unamused at the part where he explained himself fainting. Lance didn’t blame him, Keith still looked a little bit miserable after everything that had just happened. Shiro raised his brow, looking towards Lance as he took in a slightly shortened version of Keith’s story.

    “Well, I guess you _did_ have something to worry about Lance.” he said, clearly a little bit worried himself. Lance felt himself blush deeply. He’d already gone through a really close call today and he kind of wasn’t up for more. Lance supposed it was just another one of life’s signs telling him he was being a complete coward.

    Keith looked towards Lance, his own cheeks tinted with a soft blush. He smiled at first, but Lance watched with embarrassment as it slowly formed into more of a smirk.

    “You were worried about me?” he asked slyly. Shiro smiled too, fully aware of what he’d done.

    “Well, I should get going, Allura needs some help with the Atlas.” Lance wanted to screech at him to come back here and give him a good slap across the face, but he stayed perfectly still, feeling Keith’s amusement behind him. Shiro disappeared down another hall, almost as if he was never there in the first place.

    Keith spared him the anxiousness of waiting a moment, his smile growing wider and wider.

    “So, about that worrying thing-”

    “Oh shut up!” Lance screeched. Keith laughed. Lance had to admit, that was downright adorable. There was no way he could be angry with such a cute little face.

    “Fine, I’ll shut up, but you still owe me something.”

    Lance gulped, his face already cherry red. What was that supposed to mean? Keith gently began to pull Lance’s arm, guiding the two of them into his room.

    “What’s that?” he mumbled,

    “I still need my last guess.”

* * *

 

**Keith**

 

    Keith could hardly breathe as a mixture of fear and excitement swirled in his stomach. His heart pumped loudly and he honestly felt like he was entering a new level of existence the way his body felt at the moment. It was almost as though he was floating, the only thing holding him down was his nerves as he sat down on his bed. Lance and Keith shared a dorm room (considering how little space there was available due to the reconstruction of earth), so they were pretty much around each other twenty four seven. So hopefully, _hopefully_ this would go well.

    Keith could tell Lance was a little bit nervous as he sat across from Keith. He played anxiously with his fingers. Keith didn’t plan to torture Lance this time. He planned to get right to the point.

    “So…last guess for my gay awakening.” Lance rolled his eyes, obviously trying to be casual, but Keith could see right through his little act.

   “Will you tell me the right answer if I don’t guess correctly?” Keith smiled, leaning forwards expectantly. Lance’s cheeks continued to grow brighter as the seconds ticked onwards. He hesitated, a nervous smile on his lips.

    “…Maybe, maybe not.” he laughed a little bit when Keith pouted deeply in a bit of a mocking way. Lance grabbed his puffy unicorn pillow, squeezing it in his arms. “Alright, last chance.”

    Keith tapped his chin playfully, pretending to look like he was thinking extremely hard. He stalled for a moment, trying to get the courage to say it. He just barely grasped it, a little bit of panic settling in. He took a deep breath, looking towards Lance. He reached out, gently taking his hand and looked the boy right into his ocean blue eyes.

 

“…Me?”

 

    A long, tense silence wafted through the air, so thick you could cut it with a knife.

    Lance’s hand went limp inside of his. That’s when Keith knew he’s crossed the line. Panic shot up through Lance’s expression. Fear filled his eyes. Keith genuinely worried Lance was going to cry as the smile wiped off his face as though he’d been slapped. His breathing got heavy and Lance was just starting to pull his hand away.

    But before Lance could cry or do anything horrible, Keith leaned over, pressing a tiny kiss to Lance’s forehead. It lasted longer than it should’ve, much, much longer. He could hear Lance breathing a little bit heavily as he reached up and cupped Lance’s cheek in his palm. Lance was completely still as Keith pulled back, pressing another soft kiss against his ear and then his scalp, trying his best to calm him. As Keith got closer, Lance stopped hyperventilating and calmed down enough to breathe properly again.

    “I hate you.” he mumbled. Keith couldn’t help but laugh, smiling against Lance hair. “ _I hate you!_ ” he screeched.

    “I love you too Lance.” Keith murmured, pulling Lance in for a gentle hug. Lance groaned, hiding his face inside of Keith’s shoulder.

    “…You…are evil.” he mumbled. “That _wasn’t_ necessary Keith.”

    “You’re cute when you’re blushing.”

    “AUGH!” he screeched again, clearly a little embarrassed. “I didn’t like you for years for this Keith! This is torture!” Keith snorted against Lance, feeling a little guilty but mostly happy. “You sound like a pig when you do that.” Lance mumbled. That just made Keith snort a little bit louder, but he gradually calmed himself down.

    “Sorry Lance.” Keith grinned, pulling back from the hug just enough that Lance pulled his head off of Keith’s shoulder. Thankfully, Lance was smiling too, still definitely flustered but happy.

    “It’s okay.” Lance sighed, “…I forgive you.” they both felt their mouths curve back up, the pull impossible to stop. It felt so good to feel this way, especially after a rough day. Lance was right, things were going to fix themselves up and it would be okay. After all, he’d be right by Keith’s side through all of it.

    “…So, are you going to tell me you love me too?” Keith asked softly. Lance looked like a stoplight at this point, but he faced Keith despite his redness, a bashful smile on his lips.

    “Yeah…I love you too.” he admitted softy. “But you’re a total ass.”

    Keith broke out in laughter, Lance joining in.

    They both of them had to admit, this was probably the best they’d both felt in a long time. After the war, after the struggles with sexuality and being trapped in space. After all of the sadness and the grief, after all of the piecing back together. After everything…they still were lucky enough to have each other through all of it. They had the one person that would understand all of it because they went through it too. And even if this was all completely knew, even if it was a little bit scary and embarrassing, they would figure it out together, just like they always had before.

  
    And so, Keith and Lance both laughed, already looking forwards to the future that was about to come.


End file.
